Tip #20 - Three things you probably didn't know you can do with picklists

Tip #20 - Three things you probably didn't know you can do with picklists

Hello Zoho Sheet users!

We’re back with another quick tip to help you make your spreadsheets smarter. Picklists are a great tool to maintain consistency in your spreadsheet. Manually entering data is time-consuming and often leaves typos and irregular formatting. With a picklist, you can give a fixed set of options to select from, which helps keep your data clean and structured. Here are some advanced Picklist options that will make data entry super easy while maintaining data quality.

Here’s a sample use case for better understanding:

1. Multi-select in your picklist

Let’s say you are collecting personal information during a hiring process, and you also want to know the languages each candidate speaks. Instead of using multiple columns or stuffing everything into one, simply use a multi-select. This allows you to select multiple languages in one cell without any errors. Here's how you can do it:

Step 1: Select the range of cells you want to insert the picklist to.

Step 2: Insert a picklist using Insert > Picklist > Create Picklist.

Step 3: In the Picklist setup panel, switch to Multiselect.

Step 4: Enter your dropdown options and click Create.

Your multi-select Picklist is ready to use, as you can select multiple options in one.


Notes
The COUNT() function lets you count how many times each item has been entered, even if multiple entries are listed in the same cell.


 

2. Format your picklist

Want your dropdown to communicate urgency visually? Color-code your picklist options using red, yellow, and green. This works with both single- and multi-select picklists.

 

3. Turn existing data into drop-down options 

Want a set of data in your spreadsheet to serve as your picklist source? Simply link your data directly—no need to retype it.
Here's how you can do it:

Step 1: In the Type section of your Picklist setup panel, select Cell Range 

Step 2: Select the range of cells that contain your dropdown options

Step 3: Choose whether you want your data arranged Vertically or Horizontally

Step 4: Click Create






Now, your Picklist will always stay in sync with your source—great for frequently updated spreadsheets.

    • Sticky Posts

    • Tip #20 - Three things you probably didn't know you can do with picklists

      Hello Zoho Sheet users! We’re back with another quick tip to help you make your spreadsheets smarter. Picklists are a great tool to maintain consistency in your spreadsheet. Manually entering data is time-consuming and often leaves typos and irregular
    • Tip #18: 6 Trendlines and when to use them in your spreadsheet data?

      Charts are a great tool for visualizing and interpreting large chunks of data in spreadsheets. Zoho Sheet offers you 35+ chart options, along with AI-powered chart recommendations based on the data set you select. There are various chart elements that
    • Tip #17: Easily share spreadsheets with non-Zoho account users

      With efficient, collaboration-friendly options, Zoho Sheet is a popular choice among users. Sheet's external share links help you collaborate more effectively by sharing your spreadsheets with anyone outside your organization, including users who do not
    • Tip #16: Ask Zia your data-related questions and get powerful insights

      Zoho Sheet provides a variety of tools and functionalities to help you analyze your data from end to end. But what if you could analyze all your data sets with a single AI-powered tool? Meet Zia, our smart virtual assistant who will answer all your data-related
    • Tip #7: Four things you didn't know you can do with Conditional Formatting

      Conditional formatting helps you highlight and visualize data in your spreadsheet based on provided rules. Zoho Sheet offers three types of conditional formatting: Classic, Color Scales, and Icon Sets. If you're already familiar with how Conditional Formatting works, here are some bonus tips for Classic formats: Customize rules with formulas Zoho Sheet allows you to create personalized rules based on formulas. For example, in a task list you can use customized formulas to highlight tasks which are

    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


      • Recent Topics

      • FSM App Oddity

        We recently rolled out FSM to our technicians, and only one technician is having an issue. He's using an iPhone with iOS 18.6 installed. When he goes to service appointments using the calendar icon at the bottom of the app, he gets a list view only. Typically,
      • Cliq Not Working !

        Zoho Cliq has been experiencing connectivity issues since this morning. The app is unable to establish a connection with the server.
      • Injecting CSS into ZML pages

        Is there a way to inject CSS into ZML pages? Use case: 1. Dashboard displays 'Recent Activities' card displaying a list of newly added records 2. Each item in list links to the record onClick 3. When a user points the cursor over an item in the list,
      • Power of Automation :: Automated Weekly Notifications for Unapproved Timesheets

        Hello Everyone, A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate
      • Extracting Data from Sitelink APIs

        Hi All, I'm working to pull data on Sitelink using API calls but i can't seem to extract it. If you click expand, you will see it has a lot of data in it. I tried extracting from the map but it's not giving me anything. Is there a workaround on this or
      • Export a list of fields for all modules in a spreadsheet with specific field data

        Many of my clients are using spreadsheets to create lists of fields for all modules when starting a new implementation or when updating an existing setup. This is a useful process but also a very time consuming one. It would be good a list of fields could
      • [Important announcement] Zoho Writer will mandate DKIM configuration for automation users

        Hi all, Effective Dec. 31, 2024, configuring DKIM for From addresses will be mandatory to send emails via Zoho Writer. DKIM configuration allows recipient email servers to identify your emails as valid and not spam. Emails sent from domains without DKIM
      • 【Zoho Backstage】2025年7月のアップデート紹介

        本投稿は、本社のZoho Desk コミュニティに投稿された以下の記事を翻訳し、一部抜粋したものです。 What's New - July 2025 | Zoho Backstage ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 本投稿では、Zoho Backstage の直近のアップデートを3点抜粋して、ご紹介します。 目次 1.参加可否の確認:RSVP 2.証明書作成ツール:Certificate Builder 3.登録の承認 :Registration Approval 1.参加可否の確認:RSVP
      • Can we have Backorder Management ?

        Can we have Backorder Management ?
      • Display a field of an Account on the Ticket view

        Hi there, We would like to display of the Account of the user submitting a ticket on the ticket view. See for example: How can this be achieved? It doesn't really matter where it will be placed as long as it is shown there. Thanks, Snir
      • Insurance Agencies

        I am reaching out to see if anyone has any experience in the Insurance Agency world with using Zoho exclusively for the CRM and commissions side of things. Lots of strong features like drip campaigns, meeting, calendars, emails, can all be found in here.
      • Problem with Egyptian internet ISP

        Dears,  We have problem with our ADSL internet SP, That your site not working with. So, we contact them and they asking us to contact you to solve this problem.  The problem that when we are connecting to Tedata ADSL your website not working (Business Email).  BR,, Mohamed Omar 
      • Mail Not Showing In Inbox or Sent Box

        Hi, there are mails that are not displaying in both my inbox and sent box. I just tried the iPad app and it is the same but there is a blank field where a mail should be and it refers to a server error. Please fix this.
      • Marketing Automation List Entry Criteria is no longer an option

        For a couple of years now we have used the "List Entry Criteria" option to filter our Journey recipient list. All of a suddent the option no longer exists for New Lists and I can only delete the option from existing lists but can no longer edit it. Anyone
      • GCLID arrives not in CRM with iframe integrated ZOHO Form

        Hello amazing community, I enabled Adwords integration in ZOHO CRM. I have a ZOHO Form integrated in a wordpress. I tested iframe and Javascript. I enabled the "handover" GCLID in the ZOHO Form. When I add a GLID with http://www.example.com/?gclid=TeSter-123.
      • Bidirectional sync between Zoho Bookings and Zoho CRM - Part 1

        Hey, community members! The default integration between Zoho CRM and Zoho Bookings is unidirectional, which means that any appointments booked, rescheduled, or deleted in Zoho Bookings will be reflected in Zoho CRM. However, any modifications made to
      • Is it possible to edit placeholder text?

        In the master slides I want to make sure my templates have more meaning for the users and want to replace the standard placeholder text with something more instructional. Instead of "Click to edit Mast subtitle styles" I want to have "Click to enter reporting
      • Delay function execute

        I've got a workflow which uses a webhook to send information to Flow, which in return updates a record in Creator. Problem is, by the time this has executed, the rest of my script has run and can't find the (yet to be) updated info in the record. Is there
      • How to allow download of a file AFTER information is collected?

        I can't find this anywhere. Can someone help with what seems to be a pretty basic web function today? - File is stored in Workdrive - Prospect goes to a URL where the file is located - System requests prospect to enter "Name" and "Email" - An email is
      • Add Baseline methods to API

        There are no API methods for creating or querying baselines,  Use case: Customer is notified of the current project start date according to plan via another product/integration. We would like to auto create a baseline (Automated via API) at the point
      • Bulk Fill In & Edit PO/Bill/SO/Invoice

        Hello, I am adding stock in bulk on a PO, the system is automatically populating the Rate (price) and Tax from the item data. Problem is that the bill rate is different from the rate on the item data, so I have to manually erase each and enter the price.
      • Fixed Assets beg balance

        Hello, I trust you are well I'm a new zoho books user and I find it difficult to plug in the fixed assets balance and here's what I have done: 1- I imported the fixed assets data into the fixed assets module as per the instructions 2- the import process
      • Syncing with Google calendar, Tasks and Events

        Is it possible to sync Zoho CRM calendar, task and events with Google Calendar's tasks and events. With the increasing adoption by many major tool suppliers to sync seamlessly with Google's offerings (for instance I use the excellent Any.do task planning
      • CRM Deluge how can link attach file with workdrive file.

        Hi, We have create file at workdrive and would like to link to attachment at crm module by deluge. Right now can only upload it to attachment but can not link the file from workdrive. Thank you
      • Feature announcement: AI-powered document generator in Zoho Sign

        Hi there! We recently announced manual document creation by offering an editor within Zoho Sign. Today, we are excited to announce AI-powered document generation to help you draft agreements, purchase orders, and other important business documents in
      • Permanently deleted files

        Is there a way to get back permanently deleted files from your account if they were accidentally deleted and no longer recoverable from the recycling bin? I know I am probably screwed but I just figured I would ask.
      • Shared Mailbox in iOS app

        Hi, On the desktop I am using a Shared mailbox for our company's general mailbox that somebody else should be able to view. In the iOS app however I can't find it? Old sources on the internet says this isn't possible but that can't be right? Somebody
      • Tip #41- Simplify Compliance and Efficiency with Zoho Assist’s Data Cleanup Feature- 'Insider Insights'

        Managing device data efficiently is just as important as securing remote access. With Zoho Assist’s Data Cleanup feature, admins can easily remove outdated or unnecessary device records, keeping the console organized and secure. This action is carried
      • Revenue Management: #6 Revenue Recognition in Professional Services Industry

        If you run a consulting firm, agency, or any service-based business, you have a situation where you have signed the contract, maybe even sent the invoice, and have received some initial payments. So, can you consider this as revenue? What if the project
      • Zoho fsm scheduled maintenance dispatch

        Hi, I'm reaching out regarding an issue I'm encountering with the Scheduled Maintenance feature in Zoho FSM. I’m trying to configure it so that it automatically dispatches all maintenance jobs scheduled within the next 150 days, starting from today. However,
      • zoho.inventory.getRecords returns no records

        I running a custom function (Deluge) in Zoho Flow with a connection to Zoho Inventory. To debug the problem, I created the test function below. It returns "Number of contacts fetched: 0". This confirms that there's no issue with the org ID or connection
      • Feature announcement - Simplifying document creation with Zoho Sign

        Hi there, We are pleased to announce the release of our document creation feature, enabling you to create, edit, and finalize documents like agreements, purchase orders, and contracts without relying on external tools or applications. <br> This
      • Integrating File Attachments in Zoho Flow Email Notifications

        Hi, I would like to be able to send an email once an entry is made in a form, and in this email, I would like to attach a file that has been added to the form using the ImageUpload (or FileUpload) widget. So, I started by creating a flow that will trigger
      • Zoho project purchases

        Hi Folks, I think having a purchase module in projects will help in putting together a project p and L. Project wise purchases and expenses.  Do let me know your thoughts.
      • Create Tasklist with Tasklist Template using API v3

        In the old API, we could mention the parameter 'task_template_id' when creating a tasklist via API to apply a tasklist template: https://www.zoho.com/projects/help/rest-api/tasklists-api.html#create-tasklist In API v3 there does not seem to be a way to
      • How can I restore all the deleted Time entries of a Task in Zoho Projects

        How can I restore all the deleted Time entries of a Task in Zoho Projects? Query: In Zoho Projects, I cloned a task and deleted the time entries from the cloned task. However, this also deleted the time entries from the original task. How can I restore
      • Is there a way to make an account inactive in ZoHo Desk

        We have a few Clients "Accounts" that we no longer do business with. It would be beneficial for them to not show up in lists. However, we want to go back and view tickets, time, etc.
      • How to set the value of the Phone field importing contacts in Zoho Desk

        Hi everyone, i'm new in Zoho Desk, we're setting up the environment and i'm importing contacts from another CRM using a file CSV and i'm getting a problem with phone numbers (italian): the leading zero is cut away, also if the value is inside double quotes.
      • Deprecation Notice: OpenAI Assistants API will be shut down on August 26, 2026

        I recieved this email from openAI what does it means for us that are using the integration and what should we do? Earlier this year, we shared our plan to deprecate the Assistants API once the Responses API reached feature parity. With the launch of Conversations,
      • How to center a field inside a section?

        I’ve been trying to center a field inside a section in Zoho Canvas. When I align it visually, it looks centered in the editor, but after clicking Save, the field appears misaligned on the actual canvas. I also tried setting the field to full width, but
      • Next Page